Supporting device for kitchen utensils and the like



Dec. 27, 1932. KLEY 1,892,500

SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR KITCHEN UTENSILS AND THE LIKE Filed Aprilfi; 1928 IIIIIIIIIA IIIIIIIIII INV NTOR m6 LLAGQW ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 27, 1932 UNITED STATES FREDERICK W. BLECKLEY, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY SUPPORTING DEVICE FOR KITCHEN UTENSILS AND THE I'JIKE.

Application filed April 6, 1928.- Serial No. 267,890.

This invention relates to supporting devices and more particularly to devices adapted to support a variety of kitchen utensils.

One of the objects of the invention is to providea practical device of the above nature of simple yet durable construction; Another obj ect is to provide a device of the above nature which shall be etficient and dependable in action and convenient in use. Other objects are to provide a device of the above nature characterized by ready adaptability to coact with various forms of utensils individually and collectively. Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter. i T

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinationsof elements and arrangements of parts which will be pointed out in the following description and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawing in which is shown one of various possible embodiments of this invention,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a kitchen cabinet; i

Fig. 2 is a side elevatio device; I

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view takenalong the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and I Fig. 5 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 2. I

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

Referring now to this drawing in detail, there is shown a kitchen cabinet provided with the swinging doors 1i and 12. The casing of this cabinet may be of any desired type and is here shown comprising the four walls 13 and a back 14.

Mounted upon the back of the cabinet are a plurality of horizontal rails or straps 15 which are spaced from the rear wall 14 by means of collars 16 through which pass the countersunk supporting screws 17 These rails are preferably formed of flat strips of metal of substantially the shape indicated in of a supporting section in Fig. 2 of the drawing and extend from end to end of the cabinet or from end to end of the compartments formed by a center wall 18. V

Coacting with the rails 15 are the connecting members 19 which are preferably formed of spring steel and comprise an upper hook part 20 and a lowerflange 21. These connecting members are readily snapped into engagement with the rail due to their spring construction and when once mounted thereon, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, may be moved laterally to any desired point along the rail. Inthis manner they may be slid into such position as to accommodate the various utensils mounted thereon as indicated in Fig. 1 so as 'to adapt the latter to be compactly and yet conveniently disposed within the cabinet, thus giving the maximum capacity without interfering with the ready accessibility of each individual utensil whatever its shape or size. It is also to benoted that when anyweight is applied to the outer portion of the member 19, such weight merely urges the hook part 20 into more'secure' engagement with the upper portion of the rail. If, however, it is desired to remove one of these members for any reason, this is quickly and conveniently accomplished by merely swinging the lower end outwardly or by an upward movement of its supporting part. This action, which is readily permitted due to the resilient character of the hook 20, snaps the flange 21 out from under the rail and permits the whole member to be moved upwardly and detached The replacing is equally convenient and will be obvious from the foregoing. f

Turningnow to a preferred form of memher for making actual engagement with the utensil, there is shown in plan in Fig. 5 of the drawing at 22 a part which is preferably formed of soft iron. This member comprises a pair of identical arms 23 and 24 connected as by the. transverse part 25. These arms 95 first converge, asat 26, then diverge and again converge to form the opening 27, and finally are flared as indicated at'28. The arms 23 and 2e are preferably of afsomewhat flattened cross-section as indicated at 100 29 in Fig. 3 of the drawing, which in connection with their soft character adapts them readily to be swung apart or brought together so as best to accommodate the particular utensil which they are to support. They may, for example, be readily bent apart so as to permit the insertion between their ends of a handle of substantial size as indicated at 30 in Fig. 1 of the drawing, or they may be brought closer together so as to reduce the size of the openin 27 and prevent a relatively small utensil from slipping through. It is to be understood that they are preferably bent once for all to fit best with the particular utensil which they are to support and which is readily mounted in position by slipping some portion of its handle or shank between the arms and permitting the portion of greater width to rest upon the arms embracng the opening 27. It is also to be understood that with the parts in assembled position the member 22 is upwardly inclined as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawing, thus permitting the upper portion of the utensil, such as the bowl ofthe spoon indicated at 31, to rest by gravity against the contracted portion of the member 22 at the rear of the opening 27 and thereby tending to hold the utensil flatwise with respect to the cabinet as a whole.

A preferred means of connection between the parts 22 and 19 is best shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 1 of the drawing. The part 19 is provided with an offset 32 into'which is fitted the transverse portion 25 of the part 22 which may be flattened to a greater extent than the arms 23 and 24. This cross portion 25 not only fits snugly in the recess formed by the offset 32 but is rigidly held therein as by the lugs 33 which are merely struck free from the sheet metal of the part 19 and bent over to press against the rear surface of the cross portion 25. It is to be understood that this connection once made is maintained and that the parts 22 and 19 are handled as a unit and either slid sidewise along the rails 15 or readily removed and replaced as hereinbefore described.

In the use of the apparatus to accommodate a given set of kitchen utensils in the cabinet, they are first tentatively so arranged as to fit most compactly within the walls of the cabinet as viewed in front elevation. The devices hereinbefore described, which correspond in number with the utensils to be supported, are then slid sidewise along the rails or snapped onto or removed from the rails so as to provide each article with a support. The arms 23 and 24 of each support are then spread by hand so as best to coact with the adjacent portion of the utensil arranged as above described, and due to the soft metal of which they are formed they maintain this shape. The utensilsmay then quickly and conveniently be removed or replaced without interference one with another and are held in such position that the desired article may readily be selected.

It will thus be seen that there is provided supporting means in which the various objects of this invention are achieved and which is well suited to meet the hardest conditions of practical use.

As various embodiments might be made of this invention and. as various changes might be made in the construction herein described, all without departing from the scope of the invention, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpretedas ilus- I claim:

In a device of the general nature. of that herein described, in combination, av supporting member having a back face and a flat front face and. mounted in spaced relation to a. wall, a sheet metal device having a flat face adapted to lie against the front face of said member, a tool supporting means comprising a pair of horizontally spaced arms adapted to engage and support an article placed therebetween, said arms being made of a substantially non-resilient bendable material so that they may be bent into a shape appropriate for releasably holding a particular tool, and means connecting said tool supporting means to said sheet metal device, said device being made of a resilient material and having an upper portion extended rearwardly to overlie the upper edge of said supporting member and a downward resilient extension of said portion for engaging the back face of said supporting member at a point intermediate the upper and lower edges of the lattrative and not in a limiting sense.

tersufiicient to hold said fiat faces in en- 1 name to this specification this third day of 1 April, 1928.

FREDERICK W. BLECKLEY. 

